The history of the group starts with the instrumental outfit, The Nite-Liters which had originally been formed in 1963 in Louisville, Kentucky by Tony Churchill and Harvey Fuqua, and featured, in its heydey, besides Churchill on tenor sax and vibes, Charlie Hearndon on guitar, James Baker on keyboards, Robin Russell on drums, Robert "Lurch" Jackson on trumpet, Austin Lander on baritone sax, Leroy Taylor on bass, and, later, Carl McDaniel on guitar. (Earlier members included Johnny Graham, later of Earth, Wind & Fire) and Jerry Bell. Under this name the group had a few hits before the formation of New Birth proper. In 1969, Vernon Bullock had thought of creating an ensemble of groups for a touring company, and Harvey Fuqua and Tony Churchill soon took an interest. After discovering a male vocal group, The Now Sound, which featured Bobby Downs, Ron Coleman, Gary Young and an individual known as "Slim," and a female vocal group, known as Mint Julip, which featured Londee Loren, Tanita Gaines, Janice Carter and Pam Swent, they brought them together with The Nite-Liters and additional vocalist, Alan Frye and called the newly formed ensemble New Birth. The band came together in 1970 with their self-titled debut on RCA. Their second album, Ain't No Big Thing, But It's Growing, yielded a minor hit with their cover of Perry Como's "It's Impossible", in 1971.
Later that year, Bullock discovered a group from Detroit, Michigan called Love, Peace & Happiness which featured former Marvelettes singer Ann Bogan and brothers Leslie and Melvin Wilson. Finding that they had the spark that was missing from the New Birth ensemble, he paired them with the Nite-Liters and original members of New Birth, Londee Loren, Bobby Downs and Alan Frye. In 1972, the reorganized group (as a seventeen-piece ensemble) hit the R&B top ten with their cover of Bobby Womack and The Valentinos' "I Can Understand It", which paved the way for the band's future success. By the time the song hit the stores, however, Ann left to devote time to her family, leaving Londee Loren as the sole female member. Due to a brief dispute with their management company, their next hit, "Until It's Time for You to Go" featured, instead of the group members, future Supremes member Susaye Greene as lead vocalist.
In 1974, the group issued their hit album, It's Been a Long Time, which spawned the hits including the title track and their cover of the psychedelic single "Wildflower", which became a top ten hit in the UK singles chart. After the release of their sixth RCA album, Comin' From All Ends, the group split from RCA, Fuqua and their management company and signed with Buddah.
New Birth's Buddah debut, Blind Baby, featured the group's only number-one R&B single, a cover of the Jerry Butler classic, "Dream Merchant". After the release of the 1977 album, Behold The Mighty Army, the Wilson brothers split from the group following in-fighting and growing tensions in the group.
The group returned in 1979 James Baker, Tony Chruchill and Austin Lander introduce Jerry Bell as their new lead vocalist with Platinum City and in 1982 with the I'm Back album. Leslie Wilson had left the group to replace Jeffrey Osborne in L.T.D.. Jerry Bell left the group in 1981 to become the lead vocalist for Motown's Dazz Band.
The Wilsons toured with a new ensemble as New Birth in 1994, and released a few albums under the new name in the decade since. Drummer Robin Russell released a solo CD entitled Drum Beats in 2004 and Jerry Bell re-recored there hit "It"s Been Such A Long Time" 2010 for Lotus Records/ Bunglo/ Universal Records Music Group.
Since the group's initial split, their songs have been covered from the likes of Jamie Foxx, who sampled their cover of "Wildflower" for his 2005 hit, "Unpredictable". R&B group Something for the People sampled their "It's Been a Long Time" for their 1996 hit, "My Love is the Shhh". Rap artist Lil' Wayne sampled "You Don't Have to Be Alone" from their self-titled album in his song "La La" and Jerry Bell "It"s Been Such A Long Time 2010.
Singer Gary Young died in 2018.
Discography
As The Nite-Liters
* Nite-Liters (RCA Records, 1970)
* Morning, Noon & the Nite-Liters (RCA, 1971) US #167, US Black Albums #31
* Instrumental Directions (RCA, 1972) US #198, US Black Albums #41
* Different Strokes (RCA, 1972)
* A-Nal-Y-Sis (RCA, 1973) US Black Albums #34
Love, Peace & Happiness-
* Love Is Stronger (RCA, 1971)
* Here 'Tis (RCA, 1972)
As New Birth
* The New Birth (RCA, 1971)
* Ain't No Big Thing, But It's Growing (RCA, 1971) US #189, US Black Albums #50
* Comin' Together (RCA, 1972) US Black Albums #40
* Birth Day (RCA, 1973) US #31, US Black Albums #1
* It's Been a Long Time (RCA, 1974) US #50, US Black Albums #7
* Comin' From All Ends (RCA, 1974) US #56, US Black Albums #20
* Blind Baby (Buddah Records, 1975) US #57, US Black Albums #17
* Love Potion (Warner Bros. Records, 1976) US #168, US Black Albums #22
* Behold the Mighty Army (Warner Bros. Records, 1977) US #164, US Black Albums #28
* Disco (RCA, 1977)
* Reincarnation (RCA, 1977)
* Platinum City (Capitol Records, 1979)
* I'm Back (1982)
* God's Children (PNEC Records, 1998)
* I Am Blessed (Trio Records, 2004)
* Lifetime (Orpheus Records, 2005)
[edit] Singles
Year Title Chart Positions
U.S. Pop Singles U.S. Black Singles
1971 "It's Impossible" 52 12
"K-Jee" 39 17
1972 "(We've Got to) Pull Together" - 27
"Afro-Strut" 49 24
"I Don't Want to Do Wrong" - 41
1973 "I Can Understand It" 35 4
"Until It's Time for You to Go" 97 21
1974 "I Wash My Hands of the Whole Damn Deal, Part I" 88 46
"It's Been a Long Time" 66 9
"Wildflower" 45 17
1975 "Comin' From All Ends" - 76
"Dream Merchant" 36 1
"Grandaddy (Part I)" 95 28
1976 "The Long and Winding Road"
The Long and Winding Road
The New Birth Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That leads to your door
Will never disappear
I've seen that road before
It always leads me here
Lead me to you door
The wild and windy night
Has left a pool of tears
Crying for the day
Why leave me standing here?
Let me know the way
Many times I've been alone
And many times I've cried
Anyway you'll never know
The many ways I've tried
And still they lead me back
To the long winding road
You left me standing here
A long long time ago
Don't leave me waiting here
Lead me to your door
But still they lead me back
To the long winding road
You left me standing here
A long long time ago
Don't keep me waiting here
Lead me to your door
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
The New Birth's version of "The Long and Winding Road" is a cover of the classic Beatles song. The lyrics seem to be lamenting the difficulty of trying to reach someone who is out of reach or from whom the singer is separated. The "long and winding road" is a metaphor for the frustrating journey towards a person that never ends. The lyrics suggest that the singer has tried many different paths to reach this person, but none of them have been successful. The line "many times I've been alone and many times I've cried" shows the emotional toll this journey has taken on the singer.
The second verse is a continuation of this theme. The "wild and windy night" is another obstacle in the singer's path, but it has passed and left behind tears. The singer is left wondering why they are still standing there, waiting for this person. They ask to be shown the way to this person's door. The repetition of "lead me to your door" throughout the song emphasizes the urgency and desperation of the singer's desire to be with this person.
The final verse repeats the same sentiments as the first two, with the added emphasis on the passage of time. The singer has been waiting for a long time and is still being led back to the same path, the same "long winding road." They plead with this person not to leave them waiting any longer and to finally lead them to their door.
Line by Line Meaning
The long and winding road
Life is a long and winding journey full of ups and downs
That leads to your door
It leads to the one place where you feel comfort, safety, and love
Will never disappear
No matter how hard life gets, the road to your loved ones will remain constant
I've seen that road before
I've been through struggles and faced hardships before, but have always found my way back home
It always leads me here
No matter where I go, I always find my way back to the ones I love
Lead me to your door
Guide me back to where I feel safe and loved
The wild and windy night
Metaphor for difficult times that come unexpectedly
That the rain washed away
Washing away everything good and leaving only sadness
Has left a pool of tears
I'm left with nothing but sadness and pain
Crying for the day
Hoping for relief from the pain and wanting a better day
Why leave me standing here?
Wondering why everything has gone wrong and why it's so hard to move on
Let me know the way
Asking for guidance in order to find my way back to the light
Many times I've been alone
I've faced hardships without anyone to lean on
And many times I've cried
I've struggled and cried many times in my life
Anyway you'll never know
Nobody will ever completely understand all the struggles I've faced
The many ways I've tried
I've tried so many ways to overcome my struggles and find peace
And still they lead me back
Despite all my struggles, I still end up back where I started
To the long winding road
I keep returning back to the journey that has led me throughout life
You left me standing here
Someone has hurt me and left me alone to face these struggles
A long long time ago
It's been a while since the hurt and struggle started
Don't leave me waiting here
I need someone to help guide me along the way
Lead me to your door
I need help finding my way back to safety, love, and light
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Expression of strong emotions and the desire to be helped along the journey
Lyrics © EMI Music Publishing, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: John Lennon, Paul Mccartney
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
deRat62
Les has a unique and powerful voice filled with soul and deep passion. No one can come near him!
Diane Smith
Now that is for real FOR REAL.
Midwest Slot Diva
Les Wilson takes a Beatles classic, and makes it his own. So hauntingly beautiful.
2304zara
It's called "soul" baby ...... dayummmm
StarzNMyEyez
Yes, this song is hauntingly beautiful sang from the soul. It never gets old. It always leads me back. 💖
syg moore
To take nothin from the Beatles but this is the version of this song that made me fall in love with it. I cried the first time I heard it Then came Geroge Michaels version ❤💙
Deshun Smith
Yes, those are my favorite two . New birth and George Mıcheal are the best to me also.
syg moore
@Deshun Smith what you say! Both versions cut so deep. Have me balling like a baby 😭😭
Foodie Vacations
One of the best soul groups ever!
Judith Jones
He takes a song and makes it his own!